California or Bust...

So I won't bore you will ALL of our pictures I took from California because there are over 400 of them. I know I have an addiction, at least it doesn't cost that much because we don't have to print out every single one. So here are some of the highlights from our quick trip.

Our plane left Wichita on the 2nd at 6:30 in the morning. We had a connection in Dallas and landed in Orange County before 10am. We were at the park before noon.

Matthew met a pilot on the train that connected us to our second flight in Dallas. He talked the poor man's ear off, but he was a good sport.

This right outside the entrance to California Adventure, located across from Disneyland.

Does this need an explanation??

Nicole's favorite ride was the carousel. There was one in each of the 2 parks and she rode them collectively more than 10 times. This is King Triton's Carousel located inside California Adventure. At the beginning of the trip, we told her that everytime she rode the carousel, she had to ride Splash Mountain. She never paid up, but she sure loved this ride. As a side note, Nicole and Matthew rode this ride 4 times in a row while Ken and I rode Screamin' over California, a crazy fast roller coaster that ruined Ken's day. At least he can say he rode it now.

AUTOPIA...Matthew's dream come true. They gave him a driver's license and then let him drive by himself. He has seriously been waiting for this moment since the last time we were at Disneyland--six years ago. He rode this ride 3 times while we were there.

The best time I had with Ken and the kids was when we rode Splash Mountain. Nicole didn't want to ride it, she actually freaked out when we were walking up to get on the ride, which BTW had NO WAIT. She begged me not to make her ride this ride, and as you can see I didn't give in. Anyway, seconds into the ride, she decided it was okay. After the first little drop, she was in love. After the huge drop where they took our picture, she started screaming and cheering she was so excited. That was my 'high' for this trip.

My favorite part about going to California is seeing Ken's Aunt Louise. Disneyland is fun and I love seeing my kids there, but it's not MY favorite place on earth. Seeing Aunt Louise is a happy place for me. I've only met her three times but we talk on the phone enough that I feel like she's been my aunt my whole life and not just 11 1/2 years.

All in all it was a fun trip. The 2nd was crazy busy, the 3rd was perfect--short lines and not alot of chaos, and the 4th was a happy medium. The kids got to spend time with Ken's parents for a short time while we were there, and Ken and I got to spend time with his brother, Ricky and his fiance.